While I and the beasts welcome the return of sunshine to the Cosy Apartment, there is one grave disadvantage to the brightness of the approaching warm months.
The sun throws a spotlight on every speck of dust and every errant hair that flits, flies, falls or flops through the air. A grain of cat-litter or dropped food casts a shadow in the westering sunshine like a mighty tower and each missed particle of debris announces itself as though it were waving a banner from a mountaintop. The pointlessness of sweeping, vacuuming or cleaning becomes apparent as the brightness reveals that no application of broom, brush or cloth achieves more than the most temporary relief from a refuse-strewn floor, each tiny manifestation of uncleanliness mockingly descending once more to settle in the same location from which it was banished moments before.
Autumn and winter bring the illusion that my efforts accomplish results, an illusion that settles and stays for a season like a quilt of snow or a forest of fallen leaves, leaves that can be gathered up and disposed of in some manner or another. There is little sun in my home during those months, no yellow light to point its fingers at my half-won hygiene.
But I will continue to sweep and wipe and wash, a modern Sisyphus pushing a long-handled boulder, my steep slope a linoleum floor. But at the end of that day’s eternity, when the sun has set and the moon is more merciful, I will at last be able to relax with my cats - and watch them provide for my future labours with every scratch of their ears and shake of their heads.
It's a never ending task, sweet, dust, re-fur, repeat!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the sun showing the dust. :)
ReplyDeleteThere’s always my method of dealing with dust: pretend you don’t see it.
ReplyDeleteOh you are so exquisitely right! Today I saw rocks of litter (even though they were grains) scattered on the kitchen floor again near the litter box which of course occurs each time she finishes her toilette. Any more, I kick the boulders under the small rug in front of her box, and wait till in the origin again after cleaning it out, to sweep. And tufts of fur...very black...a good 25 toys scattered like a minefield throughout the house...etc .etc.
ReplyDeleteIt must be something about the angle of the sun, because I swear I am not as cognizant of those flecks of litter, gobs of fur, or corner cobwebs as in the Spring.
ReplyDeleteUndine has the right idea. Personally, I've given up trying to keep up with the dust, litter and fur. I just keep reminding myself that Martha Stewart doesn't live here.
ReplyDeleteI, too keep telling myself that it will accumulate again, so its OK to just sigh and let it wait again. Though here its the muddy paws and doggy furs...and sometimes slobber. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Undine and ignore it. When the layer gets too thick to ignore then it has to be removed only to start building up again.
ReplyDeleteHaHa! They say..'a house is just a house
ReplyDeletewithout a cat'..Well! I for one always
say 'a home is not a home without dust'.
And..I bet the furry~ones love that sunshine..
I can just hear Neville saying 'Dust? What Dust'.
Bless! :O)
Good luck in your Enterprise of staying up with the dust the fur and the cat litter. Around here a dust from the cat litter is about the worst of all the dirt in the house. Oh yes, until I actually take my bare feet and stand on some of those bits and pieces of cat litter and then ouch. I think we all try to keep up with it a little bit, but after all it's a cat domain. I wouldn't have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteI've never liked to dust (I do like to vacuum), so don't do it every week, except in the bathroom, which I can do multiple times daily to no avail, the room is THAT dusty. Dry Swiffers are great for bare floors, though!
ReplyDeleteIn any case, in this regard, it helps to have a north-facing unit (as mine is) and get little natural light, at least downstairs. :-P
LOVED that comment!
DeleteEnjoy the sun, the brightness and the warmth. Don't worry about the fur, fluff and hairs , they'll be there tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter how much I clean as soon as I am finished there is more hair right where I swept or vacuumed. Looking at the cats you'd think they never shed because they have to much fur but it just keeps on coming off! HAHAHAHA!
ReplyDeleteCat hair, dust and the like are definitely a battle we'll never win. Though we'll continue to try.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing worse...living with small children. They don't shed as much hair but those sticky fingerprints have a way of showing up everywhere. :) I love my grandson but I appreciate not having to clean up after him on a daily basis.